Abstract
We investigate the phenomenon of colexification, where a single word form is associated with multiple meanings. Previous research on colexification has primarily focused on empirical studies of different properties of the meanings that determine colexification, such as semantic similarity or meaning frequency. Meanwhile, little attention was paid to the word-forms’ properties, despite being the original approach advocated by Zipf. Our preregistered study examines whether word length influences word choice for colexification using a noveldyadic communication game (N = 64) and a computational model grounded in the Rational Speech Act (RSA) framework.Contrary to initial predictions, participants did not exhibit a strong preference for efficient colexification (namely colexifying multiple concepts using short words, when long alternatives are available). The results align more closely with a simpler coordination model, where dyads align on a functioning lexical convention with relatively little influence from the efficiency of that convention. Our study highlights the possibility that colexification choices are strongly determined by the pressure for coordination, with weaker influences from semantic similarity or meaning frequency. This is most likely explained by weak pressure for efficiency in our experimental design.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 46th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society |
Editors | Larissa K Samuelson, Stefan Frank, Mariya Toneva, Allyson Mackey, Eliot Hazeltine |
Publisher | eScholarship University of California |
Pages | 1748-1754 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Volume | 46 |
Publication status | Published - 2024 |
Event | The 46th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society - Postillion Hotel & Conference Centre, Rotterdam, Netherlands Duration: 24 Jul 2024 → 27 Jul 2024 https://cognitivesciencesociety.org/cogsci-2024 |
Publication series
Name | Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society |
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Publisher | eScholarship University of California |
Volume | 46 |
ISSN (Electronic) | 1069-7977 |
Conference
Conference | The 46th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society |
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Abbreviated title | COGSCI 2024 |
Country/Territory | Netherlands |
City | Rotterdam |
Period | 24/07/24 → 27/07/24 |
Internet address |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- colexification
- Rational Speech Acts framework
- dyadic communication game
- computational modelling